Game



June 29 ,1926.

S. C. SWEIGART GAME Filed Feb. 12, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 29,1926. 1,590,264

S. c. SWEIGART GAME Filed Feb. 12, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 29, 1926.

UNITED STATES were SAMUEL C. SWEIGART, OF LINGLESTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

GAME.

Application filed February This invention relates to games and toys, and particularly to a game simulating a baseball game, in which novel means are provided for testing the skill of an operator or player and affording diversion and amusement of unusual character attending the playing of a game of this class.

In most games of this type, chance forms an important if not thewhole test of the game, but in this invention the skill of the operator has much to do with the results attained during the play.

It is an object of this invention to provide a board having a plurality of devices which might be termed traps, which may serve to arrest or catch the man or projectile which is employed in playing the game, the said traps being located or stationed in approximately the positions occupied by the players of baseball in front of the home plate.

It is a further object of this invention to employ a man or game-piece which is to be propelled initially by the player toward the home plate and to provide means liberated by the game-piece for driving the said game-piece with respect to the home plate.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide means constituting abutments for the game-piece which will serve either to drive the game-piece in a straight line, or deflect it to one side or other of the longitudinal center of the board, according to the position or location of the impact of the game-piece with the driving mechanism, so that if the player delivers the game-piece to the driving mechanism with skill, he may expect better results than where the delivery is unskillful.

It is a still further object of this invention to produce a driving mechanism having a trigger or release actuated by the propelled game-piece, which driving mechanism acts to force the game-piece outwardly or laterally, according to the results attainable through the manipulated game-piece.

It is furthermore an object of this invention to produce a board of novel construction and inexpensive manufacture, wherein he man may be expeditiously. anchored on or removed from the board.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the details 12, 1926. Serial No. 87,888.

of construction, and in the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this application, wherein like characters denote corresponding parts in the sewral views, and. in which- Figure 1 illustrates a plan view of a gameboard embodying the invention;

Figure 2 illustrates an enlarged detail view of the driving mechanism;

Figure 3 illustrates a longitudinal sec tional view thereof partly in elevation;

Figure 4 illustrates a sectional view of a fragment of the game-board showing the anchorage for the players;

Figure 5 illustrates a sectional View of the game-piece Figure 6 illustrates a sectional view of the driving mechanism on' the line 6--6 of Fig. 3;

Figure 7 illustrates a perspective view of the driver anchor; and

Figure 8 illustrates a sectional view on the line 88 of Fig. 1. 1

In these drawings, 10 denotes a gameboard which is preferably made of metal by the stamping process so that the board or playing surface and the side flanges which are upturned may be formed integral, although the inventor does not wish to be limited with respect to the manner of constructing the board. It is the purpose of the inventor that the surface of the board shall have a plurality of traps 11 located to simulate the positions occupied in the field by the first baseman, second baseman, shortstop and third baseman, as well as the outfielders, and the traps are substantially alike, so that a description of one with modifications will suflice as a dis-' closure for the traps employed. The surface of the board is preferably concave or dished in order that there will be sloping surfaces from the edges 12 and 13 to the mouth 14 of the trap. The gradually slo ing surface terminates inwhat might in termed a well 15 more precipitous than the gradually inclined surfaces in order that the game-piece when encountering the influences of the inclined surfaces will be directed to the well where it will be trapped.

If the full force of the driving device is imparted to the game-piece, it is quite likely that it will not be influenced in" its travel as} a very great extent by the gradually tapered or inclined suriaces of the traps, and the game-piece would tlierefo'repass the in clined surfaces without being directed to the well, but if in propelling the. game-piece" edges" of the inclined surfaces of the traps,:

as they may be straight on one edge and the other edge may flare with respect to it, or they may both be divergent with respect to aii'ax'is ofthe well. Theconfiguration' or outline of the traps will depend upon their,

locations with respect to the driving mechanism. I

At each trap, or back of it rather, with respect to the driving mechanism, the bottom of the board is provided with anchors 16 for the ,men 17 and, of course, the men or devices simulating the players may be suitably ornamentedto depict the outline of lmen'i in suitable I uniforms, although this too is a matter of select on to whlch specific description need not be directed. In the present embodiment of the inventiomthe material forming the floor or bottom of the board is cutand -shaped to form loops l8, which loops stand above the i pprsurfaceof theboard to an extent that a clearanceis provided forf an choring the base? 19 of the man 16. W heirtheparts are assembled as illustrated in Fig. {L with the ,.1nan.; facing the drivingmechanism,

the man cannot be readily displaced by the actionof the game-piece, since any ime pact of the game-piece against the man will serve to seat it more firmly, as will be understood. i i 1 The driving mechanism, in the present embodiment of the iiiventiom comprises a base Qtlwhich may be anchored to the board backsoiithe home plate position, the said basehaving ach'tinnel 21 the-rein, through whch a rod 22 is slidable, which rod maybe regarded as a trigger or releasing device, and for convenience in description, it will be hereafter referred to as a. trigger.- The head 23 of the trigger mayh'ave a portion at its center which is straight and at right angles to the axis of the rod 22, and preferahly the headis curvedn'e'ar its ends in order that. a game-piece 24 when propelled against it will be deflected si 'dewise if it strikes the curved surfaces of the head and in order too that the game-piece will be extending slot 30- which forms a guide for" af pin 31which is preferablythreaded"iii,the bolt' or bar 32. The pin constitutes ah abutment for one end of the spria -"ss whicli'eii circles thebolt between the. pin and the flange 34: at the rear end of the barrel, and when the spring is compressed and' released, it will operate to project o'if'foi ce the bolt axially in order that it will operate as a. driver. The pin serves to liiiiitth'e' outward motion or movemeiit of the bolt when it strikes the end of the slot near the outer" end of the barrel. The rear eiid of the bolt;

has a shoulder 35 in its under surface and the bolt is preferably beveled on it's under surface for a portion of its length aiidthe beveled surface merges with the shoulder.- There is suificient play or movement be? tween the barrel and the bolt to permit itto ride over the inclined surface 25 of the latch block in order that the" shoiilder' 35' may engage the latch block for the'vpiiipose' of holding the driving bolt retracted against the actioirot' thespringBBL 1 i As shown in Fig. 3, the rear end of the triggeroccupies a position between thesur-- face ofthelatch block and the bolt sojth'at when the head of the trigger is struck by the game-piece, the trigger will be forced longitudinally and. serve to lift t'he sl'ioulder of the bolt from the latch block in order that itwill be free to be forced by the ac tion of the spring 33 to drive the game piece. A head 36 is attached to the bolt, in the present embodiment of the invention, by a screw, 37, although any appropriate means may be provided for connecting'these parts, orthey may be made integral. rrefera-bly, the driving surface ofthe head is curved, as shown at 38, and this curvature accenuates the results atteiiding" the operationo'l the device, in that if the game-piece is slightly deflectedby the curved surface of the head of the trigger, the curvature or thedriving head will increase the deilectioii, and therefore, it is to the interest or the player to propel the game-piece straight to the center of the trigger, and, of course, in centered relation to the driving head.

The curvatures of the trigger head and driving head maybe changed to suit particular requirements for the results desired,

and the inventor does not wish to be limited to the degrees of curvature illustrated.

It is desirable that the game-piece 24: should have a body of wood, as it is the purpose of the inventor that in operation the player shall propel the game-piece by contact of a finger with the game-piece, as in filliping, and in order that the game-piece may have sufficient stability and weight, it will be provided with a metallic core 24*, although this may be changed to suit particular requirements. It is the purpose of the inventor that the player shall place the game-piece on the surface of the board having the outline of the pitchers box 38 and deliver the ball toward the enclosure 39 simulating the home plate. The gamepiece should be propelled with sufficient force to operate the trigger and release the driving mechanism, and should the trigger fail to operate, the attempt may be counted against the player. l-Iowever, the rules of as to strikes and outs, or the counting of balls, for the purposes of this disclosure may not be taken into account, since they are features of commercialism attending the sale of the devices.

The game-board may be accompanied with figured pieces simulating base runners, as indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 1 and identified by the numeral l0, and these pieces may be of such weight and shape as to simulate players who may be placed at the bases as the game progresses. For instance, if a game-piece is propelled and then driven so that it is in fair territory on the field, one of the game-pieces 40 might be stationed on the first base to denote that a base hit had been made. If the operation is repeated in the same way, a game-piece might be placed on second base to denote an advance of the first game-piece and so on until the runs have been made or three outs have been registered through the trapping of the gamepiece 24: three times before the runner can be advanced home.

It is seen that the diamondof the game-board is outlined and the lines 41 and 42 will denote foul lines, so that if the game-piece 24: is deflected to one side or the other past the foul line, the deflection would be regarded as a strike against the player. This too is a rule which, although a part of baseball, need not be considered as affecting the merits of the invention as to its patentability.

The trigger is held normally operative by a spring 43 appropriately anchored at one end and connected to the rod 22 in appropriate manner, as by a pin 44.

I claim:

1. In a game, a game-board having a playing surface, a driving device having a curved driving surface, a driver release having a curved contacting surface in operative relation to the driving surface, means for projecting the driver, and a game-piece adapted to be propelled against the head of the trigger for releasing the driver.

2. In a game, a driving mechanism comprising a head having a curved surface, means for forcing the driving member into engagement with a gamepiece, and a trigger having a curved contacting-surface for the game-piece and against which the game piece is forced by a player.

3. In a game, a driving mechanism comprising a head having a curved surface, means for forcing the driving member into engagement with a game-piece, a trigger having a curved contacting surface for the game-piece and against which the gamepiece is forced by aplayer, and means for limiting the movement of the driving device. 4. In a game, a driving device, a barrel, a bolt slidable therein, the said barrel having a longitudinally extending slot, a pin in the bolt extending through the slot of the barrel, a spring encircling the bolt between the pin and an end of the barrel, the said end of the barrel having'an abutment for the spring, a driving end for the bolt having a laterally curved surface, means for holding the bolt retracted, a trigger for releasing the bolt, the said trigger having a laterally curved head located in advance of the driving head when the driving head is set for operation, and a game-piece adapted to be propelled against the head of the trig- 'er. b 5. In a game, a driving device, a barrel, a bolt slid-able therein, the said barrel having a longitudinally extending slot, a pin in the bolt extending through the slot of the barrel, a spring encircling the bolt between the pin and an end of the barrel, the said end of the barrel having an abutment for the spring, a driving end for the bolt having a laterally curved surface, a latch block having an inclined surface stationed in operative relation to the bolt, a shoulder on said bolt adapted to engage the latch bloclt, a trigger slidable between the inclined surface of the latch block and the bolt, a head on said trigger curved transversely, the said head of the trigger being adapted to occupy a position slightly in advance of the head of the driver when the parts are in operative position, as and for the purpose described.

SAMUEL o. .sWEIcART. 

